“I would have written a shorter letter but I did not have the time.” This is an often quoted phrase that contains a large measure of truth. Both research and experience strongly suggest that successful communication requires that complex issues be reduced to only a few major points. And this takes deep thought and great care to accomplish.
But this insight coincides with the latest internet rage… the concept of “big data.” Today’s technology enables the processing of volumes of data more rapidly and efficiently than ever before. This big data, it is argued, will enable more efficient problem-solving than ever before. Some see it as the breakthrough that can revolutionize our understanding of most everything.
It certainly is a wonderful breakthrough for marketers who want to know more about us. And it can load communicators with a depth of information they never before had. But the challenge will be to reduce that big data to understandable simple language. Otherwise this deluge of data and metrics will prove counterproductive to understanding.
Many of us have been through complex strategic and communication planning exercises where countless people spent countless hours making plans detailing objectives, tactics, and who does what by when. But such plans ended up on shelves because the press of daily events required a more simple and practical approach. The more data we had to deal with, the less likely those plans would get implemented.
More than ever, in these big data times we need to take the time and care to write those shorter letters, make more simple plans, and use more carefully crafted and simple message points.
Larry D. Lauer 
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